Russian drone attack on busy shopping centre kills 14 in Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy slams ‘cynical and despicable’ attack on his hometown of Kryvyi Rih that injured over 120.Russian drones have hit a busy shopping centre ⁠in the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least ⁠14 people and wounding more than 120.Oleksandr Vilkul, head of the Kryvyi Rih Defence Council, said on Telegram that Friday’s strikes targeted the city’s largest shopping complex, sparking a fire. The death toll as of 8pm local time (17:00 GMT) was 14, with 121 injured, including 22 children. Vilkul said 29 of those injured were in critical condition.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Ex-defence chief’s call for wartime election raises pressure on Zelenskyylist 2 of 3Nord Stream bombing suspect to Hollywood fixer: Who is Volodymyr Zhuravlev?list 3 of 3Russia says ready for ‘new ideas’ on Ukraine war that match Putin’s goalsend of listUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the attack on his hometown as “cynical and despicable”.He said a second Russian drone hit the shopping centre 30 minutes after the first, in what he claimed was a ⁠deliberate attempt to target emergency ⁠services.“Attacks like these are nothing less than terrorist acts,” Zelenskyy said on Telegram, urging the world to hold Russia to account.“The world must respond to them accordingly – with real pressure on the aggressor. For peace to be possible, Russia must face real accountability,” he added.Videos on social media showed rescuers rushing to help the wounded on the street outside, as smoke billowed from the building.Meanwhile, a separate Russian strike in the Mykolaiv region killed four people, including three children, the country’s Interior Minister Ivan Vyhivskyi said.Firefighters take part in operations at the site of a shopping centre damaged in a Russian strike in Kryvyi Rih [Handout via AFP]‘Blatant act of terror’Al Jazeera’s Audrey Macalpine, reporting from Kyiv, said the attack on Kryvyi Rih’s second-largest mall had sparked outrage. “Some are calling it a blatant act of terror, saying Ukraine must respond to it accordingly.”